It made good sense. In 2009, when Hyundai wished clients to view its new Genesis luxurious sedan as a premium little bit of equipment, Hyundai didn’t evaluate the Genesis to the Sonata. In an early advertising and marketing marketing campaign, Hyundai’s voiceover stated the Genesis is “as spacious as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but priced like a C-Class.”

When the time got here to market the Genesis R-Spec, Hyundai reached approach upmarket to check Zero-60 mph instances with the Porsche Panamera. Hyundai wasn’t below the mistaken impression that the Genesis would steal hundreds of gross sales from $100,000 Benzes and Porsches. However Hyundai was crafting a picture. Hyundai didn’t require you to imagine that the Genesis was a viable S-Class various — the corporate simply wished you to grasp that that is premium-oriented S-Class-sized sedan at a C-Class-like worth.

Lengthy earlier than the Hyundai Genesis tried to domesticate a premium persona, Acura was failing to maintain up with Lexus within the quest to be seen as a real luxurious rival for the German institution. It’s nonetheless an issue. So Acura sellers are actually simply making an attempt to ensure you perceive that the Acura TLX is healthier than the Audi A4 Lexus ES Infiniti Q50 2018 Honda Accord.

It’s not as if the suggestion’s so outlandish. Sharing a basis with the departing ninth-generation Accord and constructed on the identical Marysville, Ohio, meeting plant, there’s a lot that unites the duo.

Furthermore, it’s not as if the suggestion has by no means been made earlier than. Client Stories mentioned the deserves of a primary TLX and a loaded Accord in early 2015, pointing to the Accord V6’s quickness however the TLX’s all-wheel drive.

It’s additionally a query generally requested by customers at DriveAccord and TLXForums, as nicely. Accord followers wonder if the facelifted 2018 Acura TLX may lure different Accord lovers away from the brand new Honda; TLX drivers surprise in regards to the lack of the Honda Accord’s now discontinued V6.

It is sensible to attract comparisons between the TLX and Accord. Critics do. Shoppers do. However ought to Acura?

Its sellers do.

Karen Radley Acura in Woodbridge, Virginia, desires that will help you determine whether or not you should buy a 2018 Acura TLX or a 2018 Honda Accord. Shockingly, Karen Radley Acura prefers “the sporty styling of the TLX,” the vendor’s web site says. As if to make clear the diploma to which Karen Radley Acura is biased, the break up picture reveals the facelifted 2018 TLX however the outgoing 2017 Accord.At Sunnyside Acura in Nashua, New Hampshire, the vendor’s web site provides the redesigned Accord no buy. “Honda is the mother or father firm behind luxurious model Acura, so it ought to come as no shock that each the 2018 Acura TLX A-Spec and 2017 Honda Touring supply one thing particular,” Sunnyside writes. That’s proper: new TLX, previous Accord.

First Acura in Seekonk, Massachusetts, adopts the identical method, however flubs its 2018 TLX imaging, showcasing the older automotive as an alternative. “In additional methods than one, the 2018 Acura TLX marks itself as a frontrunner on this planet of the mid-size sedan,” First Acura says. “That is very true when it’s in contrast with each its luxurious and non-luxury rivals.” The way it’s true, however then very true, when the TLX comparability shifts from all midsize sedans to, er, all midsize sedans is an unknown that can possible by no means be identified. However the midsize sedan with which First Acura compares the 2018 TLX? The 2017 Honda Accord, in fact.Acura sellers in Woodbridge, Nashua, and Seekonk certainly encounter patrons who cross-shop the TLX and Accord. In actual fact, we’d argue that it’s clever for potential Acura patrons to drive a 2018 Accord back-to-back with a TLX. However these are the very type of comparisons that loudly announce to the world that Acura nonetheless can’t be taken critically as a premium model.

It’s as if Cadillac’s Escalade commercials drew consideration to the standard of a GMC Yukon however recommend that you would possibly want the Escalade’s premium atmosphere. Think about Lamborghini, in a match of transparency, showcasing simply how comparable Audi R8 and Lamborghini Huracán efficiency specs had been earlier than declaring variations reminiscent of steering wheel materials and seat adjustability.

Sellers, in fact, generally have goals that don’t solely line up with their respective automakers. And a handful of Acura shops received’t be the final shops to publish unflattering relationships. However for a model that’s already seen the plebeian 2018 Accord leapfrog its merchandise by way of expertise, Acura doesn’t want anyone to spotlight simply how a lot of a Honda its midsize sedan really is.

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Reality About Vehicles and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.internet. Observe on Twitter @timcaincars.